Fantasy / Horror Reading in October 2015

Westsiyeed said:
Agreed. I'm not huge on the traditional fantasy sub-genre anyway, so I'm probably against the norm on this forum...
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You've probably mentioned before, but I'm horrible at remembering who says what -- so what is your preferred reading in sff?

My impression is that this forum tends to be more "grimdark"-leaning than purely "traditional"-leaning -- but that's just an off-the-cuff impression.
 
Contrarius said:
You've probably mentioned before, but I'm horrible at remembering who says what -- so what is your preferred reading in sff?
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Well I prefer SF overall, but within fantasy I prefer more dark and/or weird fantasy - Vandermeer, Mieville and Barker are favourite authors. I'm open to anything (loved The Name of the Wind), but they're my preferences.
 
Contrarius said:
Probably because your comment that "I really can't believe why the "fantasy literati" go so easy on it" came across as condescending and dismissive.
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How so? Don't see how I can be condescending towards the "Fantasy Literati" given that they are the ones that have an attitude of patronizing superiority towards these types of books usually. I am of course dismissive of them generally.:)

Ok maybe I was looking down at them along my fine noble nose a little bit.

But it's not like I called out anyone is this thread for liking the books and said your opinion is wrong and you're an idiot for holding it. :eek:
 
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Westsiyeed said:
Well I prefer SF overall, but within fantasy I prefer more dark and/or weird fantasy - Vandermeer, Mieville and Barker are favourite authors. I'm open to anything (loved The Name of the Wind), but they're my preferences.
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I don't know that I've actually ever read anything that could be officially classified as "weird" fantasy. I keep meaning to look into that more. I like a lot of the darker authors, though, as long as "dark" doesn't mean "the world is entirely hopeless". Nonetheless, non-grimdark can also be a lot of fun.

eta -- wait. Does Haruki Murakami count as weird fiction? I like him. And the wiki page for weird fiction lists Ray Bradbury, one of my favorites.
 
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Contrarius said:
I don't know that I've actually ever read anything that could be officially classified as "weird" fantasy. I keep meaning to look into that more. I like a lot of the darker authors, though, as long as "dark" doesn't mean "the world is entirely hopeless". Nonetheless, non-grimdark can also be a lot of fun.
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I guess it's more "new weird" for me - ie only recent authors of the last decade or so. If you wanted to read something "weird/dark fantasy" that's good I'd recommend (from the authors I listed) - Finch by Jeff Vandermeer, Perdido Street Station or The Scar by China Mieville, or Clive Barker's Imagica or Weaveworld.

Contrarius said:
Does Haruki Murakami count as weird fiction? I like him. And the wiki page for weird fiction lists Ray Bradbury, one of my favorites.
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Yeah I like Murakami, a much more subtle type of weird/strangeness in his books...
 
Aeronaut's Windlass is so much fun. The book need Rowl on the cover for the paper back given he's clearly the main character :)
 
Westsiyeed said:
If you wanted to read something "weird/dark fantasy" that's good I'd recommend (from the authors I listed) - Finch by Jeff Vandermeer, Perdido Street Station or The Scar by China Mieville, or Clive Barker's Imagica or Weaveworld.
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I think my mission for 2016 will be to read authors I've been missing out on, so I'll definitely put some of these on my list. Maybe not Clive Barker, though -- I'm not a fan of outright horror, which is my uneducated impression of him. :eek:
 
Rulkez said:
Aeronaut's Windlass is so much fun. The book need Rowl on the cover for the paper back given he's clearly the main character
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For those who don't know, Rowl is a cat. But yes, it's great fun. Don't know how far you've got, Rulkez, but it gets better as it goes. The three of us looking at reviewing it here at SFFWorld all enjoyed/are enjoying it.
 
Maybe a quarter of the way through. I must be enjoying it because I've even set aside my hatred of huge hardbacks to read this.

Side note: The most memorable characters in the last 2 books I've read have been a Goat ( The Vagrant) and a Cat ( Aeronaut's Windlass) :D
 
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Contrarius said:
Maybe not Clive Barker, though -- I'm not a fan of outright horror, which is my uneducated impression of him. :eek:
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Oh no, try Imagica and Weaveworld. They're not horror at all. Well, no more than any other fantasy.

Imagica is, essentially, a mixture of urban and weird/dark fantasy and also a portal fantasy with a healthy dose of the epic.

Weaveworld is also a mash up of urban and weird/dark fantasy. It could be portal too but would depend on how strict your definition of portal is and in which direction the travelling is going. Sort off. ;)

I'd also recommend Barker's Cabal too. It's about monster/outsiders and perceptions and what really makes a monster.
 
Nechtan said:
Oh no, try Imagica and Weaveworld. They're not horror at all. Well, no more than any other fantasy.
[...]
I'd also recommend Barker's Cabal too. It's about monster/outsiders and perceptions and what really makes a monster.
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Okay, they're on the list. If they horror-fy me, I'm coming to get you. o_O
 
I'm currently reading The Dream Archipelago by Christopher Priest. Priest is probably my favorite author and I love his Dream Archipelago world which features in a number of his novels and stories so I'm firmly in my happy place with this book.

Since my reading time has been carved into a tiny fraction of it's former glory thanks to a new job, I'm also making the most of audio books to get my "reading" fix. My first foray into audio books is Under the Dome by Stephen King. I'm probably about two-thirds of the way through the book and I'm enjoying it enough to not hate my commute so that has to say something. As a native of Maine (where the book is set) I find myself constantly annoyed at the narrator's absolutely atrocious butchering of the "Mainer Accent" (A.K.A. the Downeast Accent). I think it bothers me because I can naturally turn that voice on in my head when I read a King novel, but not so much when I'm listening to one.

Long story short, I'm enjoying my first audio book experience, but realizing how the narrator can really color the experience.

Under the Dome is a looooong novel, so I'm still undecided on how I feel about the book itself. It has it's moments, but suffers from some of King's annoying writing tics, like annoying use of slang. It really comes across as forced and "cool Dad" feeling than an as an effective use of language.
 
Kingsman said:
Wondering why you felt the need to state the obvious?:confused:
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Because your post at least hinted at an attitude that really bothers me. Too often, people take their personal dislike of a book to mean that the book is not good.
 
update on my self published sample binge:

Raging Swords by Robert Ryan - read the first chapter, the writers voice just sounds like he's trying to hard. It reads very proper(pretentious may be the better word) and I'm sure the punctuation and grammar are perfect. Didn't bother continuing.

Nightblade by Ryan Kirk - Made it past the first chapter so that's encouraging. Second chapter wasn't as good but once past that it became something I will probably get to back to buying. Will appeal to fans of Brent weeks Night Angel Trilogy.

Forgotten soldiers by Joshua P Simon - This was very easy to read and I will be buying this one to finish straight away.:)

Bannerfall by Jason l. Mcwhir.... - Only gave the first page a quick browse, didn't look overly promising, may get back to it after finishing the above two books.
 
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